What I did

Yesterday was my official last day of class. I have to say that I had so much tension in my back and neck that I could actually feel my neck muscles wrapped around the base of my skull. It took me hours and hours to come down off the ceiling. I was just that amped up! Not that I was excited by any means, I was just that stressed out.

Today I woke up abruptly at 8:44 am. I couldn't believe that I was still sleeping that heavily at that time. I got up and got busy. The house looked like a tornado has been camped out here for the last 6 weeks. Den came home and took the camper for new tires. OMG... did I tell you we got a camper? lol OOPS. Ok, that will be another blog post coming shortly. Now that it is at it's "storage" area up in Armada, which is where I'll be celebrating the Fourth of July tomorrow, I will be sure to take photos inside and out! Our awesome friends Mike and Donna live on acreage up there and are letting us keep it there when we aren't using it.

Where was I? Oh! So the delimma for the day... where the hell are all of these tiny little ants coming from inside the house?! I have no idea what the heck happened, but we are getting these tiny little buggers in the laundry room and in the office. I've sprayed what I could, vacuumed regularly, but still... ants. I'm ready to tear my hair out.

Regardless, I got a lot done today, then we took the camper up to Armada. It was a breeze to drive it there, but I never thought of how narrow their drive way is... until we had to make that turn. lol. White knuckle moment for the Griswolds.

After that we went to the Putters House (my parents). I folded my hands, put a pout on my lips, and batted my eyelashes at my mom and asked her if she has anything I can pilfer for the camper, ie; towels, skillets, etc. I spent the next 2 hours going through the attic, the garage, the pantry, the linen closet. She is a gem, however she gave me a really nice mattress pad that I don't think she should have given me. It is too nice and I think I may return it to her.

Den, Greg and my Dad fished in the canal, and Emily earned a few bucks doing some things for Nana.

Finally we left and hit Kroger on the way home. Because tomorrow, I'm making THIS...

Barefoot Contessa's Caprese Salad

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Directions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.
Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Trust me when I tell you that I CAN NOT cook. But this blows peoples socks off. It's my current, "Yep I made that!" dish! lol. It's worth EVERY effort my friends, so give it a whirl.

******Happy Fourth of July America!******